Day 478 “To the world… we tried. And we’re not giving up!”

Folks in Aichi Prefecture! The riot police that assaulted participants in yesterday’s protest against the restart of the Ooi Nuclear Power Plant were from Aichi Prefecture. Watch the video carefully, and if you know any of them, please let them know not to use violence [on peaceful protesters].

From EX-SKF at:

It rained all day, on both the protesters and the police who had to guard the plant.

It is a little confusing, but from bits and pieces on Twitter, it looks the police, after trying to forcibly remove some protesters who entered the plant compound, decided to withdraw. The protesters, particularly the younger people who had taken turns to protest for 2 days and nights, decided to take a break and withdraw themselves. The protest ended peacefully. There is a report of one arrest, and an allegation that one protester was kicked by the police. If the latter is true, it should be all captured in the live video.

Here’s one photo (by Megumi Ikeda) of the protest on July 1, when the rain was particularly heavy. Many in Japan sympathize with these young men who have to stand guard. They look miserable in the photo.

An interesting piece of information from Yasumi Iwakami, who went there on July 1: The riot police was not local but brought in from Aichi Prefecture, where the governor is determined to at least bury the ashes in landfills in Aichi after the disaster debris is burned elsewhere.

In addition to the US’s ABC and Germany’s ZDF, many Japanese TV stations and newspapers seem to have descended on Ooi-cho. Protesters note some of them:

Since it was pouring rain, the reporters from the major news outlets hired taxis to the protest site, and remained in the taxis to file their report on their PCs and take a nap. One of the protesters look at the taxi meters – 78,000 yen (US$976), 44,000 yen (US$550), 27,000 yen (US$338).

Osaka ABC (Asahi) TV’s crew were later seen dumping the garbage in the garbage bins at a local convenience store. (The photos are from this tweetby the same person who read the taxi meters.)

In this age of the internet, social media and mobile smart phones, you can’t get away with doing what you’ve been doing .

Jiji Tsushin (7/1/2012) reports that the Senior Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry arrived at the plant by sea, on a ferry boat, to bypass the protesters. Senior Vice Minister Makino was on hand to remove the control rods from the reactor core of Reactor 3 at the plant to start the chain reaction.

Japan switches on Ohi nuclear reactor amid protests

Many in Japan distrust the government’s assurances that nuclear power is safe

Japan has restarted the first nuclear reactor since the meltdown at the Fukushima power plant last year.

Hundreds gathered near the plant in the town of Ohi to protest against the move, which has divided public opinion.

Last month, the prime minister urged support, saying a return to nuclear power was essential for the economy.

All 50 of Japan’s nuclear plants were shut after the meltdown at Fukushima, which was triggered by a tsunami and earthquake.

The crisis was regarded as the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

Road blocked

It will take until Wednesday before the No 3 reactor at Ohi, in Fukui prefecture on the west coast, can start supplying electricity.

The reactor is expected to be fully operational by the end of the week, the operator, Kansai Electric Power Co (Kepco) says.

About 100 of the 650 protesters at the nuclear plant blocked a nearby road overnight, but a Kepco spokesman said the reactivation was not affected, according to the Reuters news agency.

The restart of the reactor follows an order by Mr Noda last month authorising the reactivation of both it and another reactor at Ohi – No 4 – following stress tests. Reactor No 4 is to be restarted on 14 July.

At the time, he called on the Japanese to support the move, saying it was needed to bolster the economy and prevent energy shortages over the summer.

The decision was welcomed by businesses who had voiced concern over the lack of power for industry.

Dissent

On Friday, tens of thousands took part in anti-nuclear rallies in Tokyo outside Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s official residence, chanting “Saikado hantai,” or “No to nuclear restarts”, in what correspondents say was a rare show of dissent in Japan.

The BBC’s Mariko Oi, in Tokyo, says it was one of the largest demonstrations seen since the reactors at Fukushima were damaged in March 2011.

The most important thing for us is sustainability of the Earth for the next generation”

Nobuhiko ShudoTokyo protester

Reports differ on the number of attendees, but organisers say 200,000 people took part, our correspondent says.

The government is continuing to assess whether other nuclear plants are safe to be reactivated.

But demonstrators say they are not convinced by assurances over safety. They argue that Japan should take the opportunity to move to alternative energy sources.

Tokyo-based protester Nobuhiko Shudo told the BBC the problem of disposing of radioactive waste was key.

“The most important thing for us is sustainability of the Earth for the next generation so if we have some problems to keep the planet clean and beautiful, then we have to change the industrial structure” to foster alternative energy sources, he said.

= ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ =

Senior Vice Minister Is Displeased with Ooi Protesters Who Blocked His Land Route to the Plant

Seishu Makino, Senior Vice Minister of Economy, was present at the starting operation of Reactor 3 at Ooi Nuclear Power Plant on the night of July 1. Afterwards, he held a press conference via the monitor screen with the press corps who were at a different location in Ooi-cho. The tense-looking Senior Vice Minister told the press, “With the nation divided [over the restart], this is a one step forward toward the restart that the government cannot avoid.”

Commenting on the opposition group whose road blockade forced him to arrive at the plant by sea, he showed his displeasure by saying, “It’s not that I don’t understand people have different opinions, but I want them to observe the rules.”

I guess he means citizens and residents of Japan cannot block a road that has been paved over and over again in a mint condition thanks to their tax money over the past 20 years (also known as “the Lost Decades”). Or maybe Mr. Makino got seasick.

And how about the government observing the rules? It sure does. Pro forma. On technicality. In an exemplary manner.

Oi plant’s No. 3 reactor reaches criticality

FUKUI — The No. 3 reactor at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture attained criticality, or a self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction, at 6 a.m. on July 2.

The nuclear plant operated by Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO) is the first in Japan to restart after mandatory inspections and regular checkups following the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

KEPCO will accelerate the 1.18-million kilowatt reactor’s heat output while checking the movement of the turbines. If everything goes as planned, the reactor will start generating electricity July 4 before becoming fully operational July 8.

Plant workers reactivated the reactor at 9 p.m. on July 1. They then pulled out the reactor’s 53 control rods that prevent nuclear fission and lowered the concentration of boric acid before it reached criticality.

Once the reactor’s heat output reaches around a dozen percent, workers will pump vapor into the generator turbine before starting electricity transmission. If the reactor operates without a hitch for about a month , the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency will give the go-ahead for resumption of commercial operations.

Meanwhile, demonstrators at the Oi plant, some of whom had blocked the road to the plant, ended their anti-nuclear rally and left the area in the wee hours of July 2.

July 02, 2012(Mainichi Japan)

= ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ =

More on the Ooi restart protest of 30 Jun – 1 July from FukushimaDiary. Read the entire article at:

We found police crying. I asked one of the riot police officers if he’s actually against the restart of nuclear plant, he turned to me and slightly nodded to bear up in tragedy. There were numbers of times when I couldn’t stop my tears.

My daughter suddenly and quietly told me, “Though we don’t even have right to vote, my generation is going to have to settle the nuclear accudent, isn’t it ?” “I want to ask how the pro-nuke old generation can restart the nuclear plant.”

I really feel sorry for them. To stop it in our parental generation, we keep on fighting.

Though they were still chanting “No restart”, protests collected garbages which were given by the supporters. Power companies scatter around the nuclear waste in case of an accident and it lasts for tens of thousand years, take no responsibility and can not even decontaminate, but we clean where we made occupied. This is common sense.

<End>

↓ She was eliminated by police but came back and tied herself with a chain.

Though they were still chanting “No restart”, protests collected garbages which were given by the supporters. Power companies scatter around the nuclear waste in case of an accident and it lasts for tens of thousand years, take no responsibility and can not even decontaminate, but we clean where we made occupied. This is common sense.

I’m being approached all the time by scientist having great difficulty getting their Fukushima Daiichi-related reports published because of industrial pressure -Gundersen

Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima Daiichi: What is the Link?
CCTV’s Margaret Harrington
June 27, 2012

At ~27:00 in

Arnie Gundersen, Fairewinds Associates: Of course, now at Fukushima we are not throwing scientists in jail, but I’m being approached all the time by scientist who are having great difficulty getting their reports published because of industrial pressure.

People just don’t want to admit the severity of the accident releases and they’re in control of the academic journals, which makes it difficult to publish.

Maggie Gundersen, Fairewinds Associates: We know one lead scientist who did an amazing study and submitted it to five journals and finally one of the five journals took it… Four journals all received incredible pressure to not publish that work. All of them have board member from the nuclear industry.

I started to run to the roadway. As my friend told me, the roadway was filled with people and vehicles couldn’t pass through. Policemen repeated “Please go on the sidewalk!” but he couldn’t control people. A protester with white hair shouted “It’s the first time since the campaign against the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty in 1960!”. 200000 people (Issued by the promoter) advanced little by little to the direction of PM’s office. Within some minutes, the barricades of police collapsed one after another and were pulled back. A commandant of the police shouted “Protect the Prime Minister’s office!”. Some buses of riot police (usually called as Kamaboko) appeared and came in between PM’s office and the protesters. Police appealed with loudspeaker from the top of command vehicles: “Please everyone stay calm!” but he couldn’t stop people. Police officers of today must have not experienced such a large scale of demonstration before. Instead the promoter of the protest appealed: “We’ll protest next week as well. Step backwards slowly”, “nuclear power plant will not be stopped by only 200 000 people.” Before the scheduled finishing time, the demonstration was adjourned peacefully without any arrest. PM Noda’s office who restarted nuclear power plant was protected by the police. If the vehicle of riot police didn’t backed up the front gate of PM’s office, people would have rolled into the PM’s office.

[…]

GLR Special Report from inside protest, June 29, 2012:

At 11:15 in

People are piping mad, much more vocal than I noticed last time.

At 25:45 in

The people are in the streets… The people have taken over the highway now… I don’t know what the police are going to do about this.